Andy

Owner @purepolishprod / Consultant / Dad #InBend // Shoes, Bikes, Chess, Poker, Health, Psychology

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@LuckyJadeJules @luckychewy @HofNatalie @FelipeMojave @thefakesammieg Best hat ever!

[Andy @vaughnandy]

Coherence ✨ / cc. @luckychewy @LuckyJadeJules

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Fun is the greatest performance enhancer. And Erling Haaland is showing us how and why:

Before taking on Brazil, Erling Haaland told his teammates: "No matter what happens just smile and enjoy it. Just live in the moment because we did everything we can... just enjoy playing football."

Then he scored twice and Norway knocked out a 5-time World Cup champion...

Haaland is having a blast. He's known as the "smiling assassin," joking around with teammates and opponents before unleashing. Days before the biggest game of his life, a World Cup quarterfinal against England, Haaland was spotted golfing in Florida.

Some fans were annoyed. Shouldn't the joint-top scorer at the World Cup be locked in?

They're missing the point...

Haaland is one of the most dedicated athletes on the planet. He calls himself a 24/7 athlete, with 10 hours of sleep a night, blue-light glasses to help out, saunas, ice baths, you name it. The man treats recovery like a profession.

The golf and the jokes sit on top of one of the most disciplined operations in sport. And that's the point...dedication and fun work in concert.

Our image of elite performers is often one of stoic seriousness. We mistake being serious for being dedicated.

They are not the same thing. And confusing them has consequences.

I conducted a survey of 2,000+ performers, including Olympic medalists, pro athletes from every major sport, actors, and more.

When did they perform best? Performing out of a place of joy, fun, and curiosity beat stoic, serious, gritting it out 11 to 1.

When I asked what advice these world-class performers would give their younger self? "Enjoy it, have fun, don't take it so seriously" dominated. Only a single person in the entire survey said to be more serious.

When asked why they compete, Joy/fun was the number one response by far.

Psychologist Robert Vallerand found this out decades ago. He found that nearly all performers have passion. But there are two kinds.

Obsessive passion: your self-worth is on the line, you NEED to win.

Harmonious passion: you love it, it fits your life, mastery.

Both could lead to elite performance, but obsessive tended to lead to burnout and a growing fear of failure.

Joy is an expansive emotion. It frees us up, we get to explore our potential and play to win. Just look at a toddler...You know the best way to get them out of losing it tantrum mode? Curiosity.

If you get them curious about something, a funny noise, flickering light, etc. the tantrum fades.

Curiosity is the antidote to fear and losing it. It opens up to explore. That's the basis of fun.

It's why you see Eliud Kipchoge smiling at mile 23 of the marathon. Or Steph Curry smiling on the free throw line...

They understand that while for some baring down may work. For far too many, it pushes us into do or die mode. And despite what you hear on social media, very few perform well there.

It's a mistake I saw all the time as a coach. The tight, grim athlete who trained perfectly and raced terribly

Far too often, we think that if they are laughing around, joking, smiling, it means they aren't serious, that they don't care.

That's BS. Fun is the fuel. It's what allows us to be locked-in without tension.

It's the nuance that sprint coach Bud Winter noticed decades ago to sprint your fastest, you have to give maximum effort while relaxed.

It's the same here. To be dedicated, to get locked-in, we have to have fun doing it.

It's what puts us in seeking mode, hunting for goals with teammates we care about because that's what we know and love to do.

Fun is the best performance enhancer there is. We knew this as kids. Go back there.

Or just listen to my 3 year old...when she saw Haaland, she asked "Is that Elsa's brother?" That might be the best theory for his superpowers we get...

[Melodies & Masterpieces @SVG__Collection]

“Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.”

— Miles Davis

[Eric Baldwin @basebaldy]

Celebrate that you went for it instead of beating yourself up that it didn’t work out ♥️ 💪

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

I’m convinced genuine excitement is the key to life. Some people just have a light in their eyes. It’s an excitement for life. Not just for the highs, but also for the texture and friction of the lows. Hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Excitement is contagious.

[books 📖 @bookpoets]

happiness lives in three places

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@ClearTradeoffs This is true with so many domains - sports, mental games, academics. Often the best performers can’t explain what they do, or do anything beyond inspire. Whereas a good coach can translate, encourage, and effect actual change.

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@stevemagness This is especially true for those who work from home. I like to put on and take off work shoes, as a psychosomatic trigger defining work & non-work time.

[Andy @vaughnandy]

Legit 🙌

[Brad Stulberg @BStulberg]

Hustle-culture grindslop makes you think that if you’re not miserable you’re not working hard enough. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. One of the greatest competitive advantages is having fun.

https://t.co/2xbCgkiLxb

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@catehall Congrats, Cate 👏

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@hungryhorsepokr Giving this without stack depth is lolz, as you’re just showing direct odds, and river play is unknown. Assuming you take the same strategy on the river, and we aren’t playing super short or super deep: call all for max value against your polarized range.

[ESPN @espn]

THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER IS BACK‼️

Peyton and Eli welcome its return to ESPN and the ESPN App 🍿

[Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee]

Whose fucking permission are you waiting for? Go do your thing. You're going to die

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@berkey11 @padspoker Interesting. I’ve had the opposite ruled against me at the @WSOP - check/check, OOP (well-known pro) insta mucks, then asks to see my hand. I refuse, say it’s the only live hand. Player calls floor, and floor rules I have to table my hand to get pushed the pot. 🙃

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@NateSilver538 @kwansfull I agree. I think waiting actually speeds up my game.

[Andy @vaughnandy]

There are decision fatigue benefits to waiting. Observing action first gives you a binary action tree that is mentally less fatiguing than observing cards first and considering all possibilities prior the actual action tree.

[Joseph Cada @JoeCada99]

I’ll never understand why majority of players wait till it’s on them till they look at their cards. If we are approaching some type of bubble, I understand.

[Wholesome Side of 𝕏 @itsme_urstruly]

I love people who are intellectually omnivorous.

The kind who can discuss folklore, black holes, bird migration, poetry, and grocery store pricing in a single conversation without getting lost.

[Andy @vaughnandy]

@AuthorGFAllen Terry Pratchett, Frank Herbert, Patrick Rothfuss

[Brad Stulberg @BStulberg]

23 rules for fatherhood in a chaotic world:

1. Your kids are always watching; your actions speak louder than words. Don’t just talk about it. Be about it.

2. Never turn down hugs, cuddles, kisses, or invitations to hold hands. It won’t always be this way.

3. Let your kids see you care deeply. Let them see you risk failure. Let them see you come up short and try again.

4. If you’re worried about your kids becoming addicted to their phones, start by evaluating your own digital habits.

5. Your kids need to see you loving and respecting the women in your life.

6. A growth mindset says praise effort not results; it’s incredibly important—but also, tell your kid you love them simply for being who they are.

7. Don’t take youth sports too seriously—it’s not about you, it’s about them.

8. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be good enough.

9. Let your kids see your full complexity. My kids see my love of deadlifting and also my love of books. They see me when I am tough and they see me when I am vulnerable. It gives them permission to contain their own multitudes.

10. Take care of your own health, physical and emotional.

11. Don’t neglect friendships. It’s important for your kids see you building relationships too.

12. If you think your child has something to tell you don’t try to force it out of them. Play with them instead. Give them your full attention. Do this, and they’ll share on their own.

13. Respond not react. (This isn’t easy.)

14. When you mess up—which you inevitably will—
say you are sorry. Explain what you did wrong and how you’ll try to do better next time.

15. Let your kids see you excited and alive, whether it’s from work or hobbies. It will help them seek excitement and aliveness themselves.

16. Create rules around raising your voice. I try never to yell unless it’s an acute safety issue. When I mess up, I apologize.

17. The best way to express your love is through your attention. Not gifts. Not money. Not words. Attention.

18. You will fail from time to time. I often feel like I’m coming up short. I think it’s just part of being a dad.

19. Right when you think you’ve got things figured out they change. This happens forever, I suppose.

20. It’s beautiful watching your kids grow up, but it’s also hard. I want my kids to evolve and mature. I also desperately want to freeze time. Both emotions can exist at once.

21. Be there for your kids when they succeed. Be there for your kids when they fail. Just be there.

22. Laugh together every chance you get.

23. Love your kid like it’s the most important thing there is—because it is.

[Will Manidis @WillManidis]

“Always go to the funeral”